Men's Golf Headline

Wednesday June 2, 2004No. 1 Men's Golf T10th After Day 2 At NCAAs

Freshman Jessie Mudd (Louisville, Ky.) continues to lead No. 1 Florida as the Gators suffered through swirling winds for the second consecutive round and are tied for 10th after the second day at the 2004 NCAA Menís Golf Championships on Wednesday at The Homestead Resortís Cascades Golf Course.

The Gators shot a second-round score of 289 (+9), which was the 12th-best round of the day, but Florida is just six strokes off the lead as the top 27 teams are separated by only 19 shots. California maintained its lead at the par 70, 6,679-yard course by also carding a nine-over 289 to sit at 568 (+8) with Kentucky at 569 (+9) and BYU at 570 (+10) rounding out the top three.

"Weíre not in a bad spot and itís certainly not a dire situation, but Iím pretty disappointed with the way weíve played so far," Florida coach Buddy Alexander said. "Weíre sort of playing at everyone elseís level and we certainly havenít raised ours. Weíll see if we can figure a few things out in the next 24 hours.

"The wind has made it pretty tough," Alexander said. "I think what happens here is the wind makes the hazards and the trees a little closer. Itís not a difficult golf course because itís not a long course, but when the wind blows, some of those things that are usually just out of harmís way are all of a sudden right in the middle of things. I think thatís why the scoring has been so high."

Mudd is tied for 23rd after a second-round score of 73 (+3) left him at 142 (+2). Mudd hit two birdies and eagled the par-4 No. 6 en route to a 34 (-1) on the front nine, but couldnít match the score on the back nine as the Gators again struggled with the five players shooting a collective 185 (+10) on the back nine after a 178 (+3) on the front nine.

Senior Camilo Villegas (Medellin, Colombia) shot even par on the front nine and is tied for 43rd after matching his first-round score of 72 to stand at 144 (+4).

Sophomore Brett Stegmaier (Madison, Conn.) was one-under on the front nine before finishing at 74 (+4) for the day. Heís in a tie for 50th at 145 (+5).

Sophomore Matt Every (Daytona Beach, Fla.) fared the best of any Gator in the second round with a one-over 71, which included four birdies and a 33 (-2) on the back nine. Every sits in a tie for 59th at 146 (+6) after two days with fellow sophomore James Vargas (Miami, Fla.), who matched his first-round score with a 73 (+3)

Florida will tee off beginning at 8:03 a.m. for the third round on Thursday. After the conclusion of the third round, the field of 30 will be cut to the top 15 teams and the top six individuals not on those teams. Live scoring of the event can be found at